Two-wheeled vehicle



(No Model.)

0. R. PRATT s; 0. H. W. FOSTER.

TWO WHEELED VEHICLE.

Pate-nted May 24 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

CHARLES R. PRATT, OF BOSTON, AND CHARLES H. \V. FOSTER, OF BROOK- LINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Nc.363,541, dated IVIay 24, 1887.

application filed Soptcmb. r 9, i8 '6. Serial No. 213,1.3. (lilo model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES R. PRATT, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and CHARLES H. WV. FosTER,of Brookline, county of Norfol k,

State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheeled Vehicles, of which the following is a specifica tion, taken in connection with the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, in

Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through one of the trunnions which support the body. Fig. 4 shows a modified form of our improve- [5 ment. Fig. 5 is a detail showing a folding dash-board.

One of the objections to two-wheeled vehicles as at present constructed is the difficulty experienced in so hanging the vehicle as to prevent the uneven jerky motion which is frequently noticeable in dog-carts and vehicles of similar construction.

The object of our invention is the production of a wheeled vehicle which shall ride steadily and smoothly, and which shall have no tendency to tip sidewi se when more heavily loaded at one side than the other; and it consists in a vehicle having its body suspended, in the manner hereinafter shown and described,

so as to bring the center of gravity of the body below the point at which the body is secured to or suspended from the axle-support; and, further, in the employment and arrangement of equalizing-levers in connection with the 5 body-supports, so that the bottom of the vehicle-body is maintained substantially parallel with the wheel-axles.

Our invention will be readily understood from the following description and the accom- 0 panying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate like parts. I

A represents a bent axle, which turns downwardly at right angles just inside the wheels. (See Fig. 2.) The main portion of this axle 4 5 lies in front of the axes of the wheels, and to bring it into this position the axle 1s bent 1nside the wheels, to bring it toward the front (see Fig. 1) before it is carried down and across to the other wheel. The vertical portions of the axle are continued upward to form supports from which to suspend the body of the vehicle. These upward projections or standards l are rounded at their upper portions and provided with blocks 0, having holes through them to receive the upper ends of the stand ards and to permit the blocks to slide up and down thereon. The blocks 0 are supported upon spiral springs d, which encircle the standards and rest on shoulders I, Fig. 3, formed thereon.

The blocks 0 are provided with trunnions a, projecting outwardlytherefrom, and on which are hung thesupporting-rods b, which extend downwardly to the crossrods D E, respectively, which pass under the forward and rear portions of the vehicle-body and support the same. The trunnions a are provided outside the rods 1) with screw-nuts a, to prevent the rods 1) from coming off.

The upper ends of the standards Z are pro vided with caps Z, secured on top by nuts and bolts. The caps Z prevent the trunnion-blocks c from rising above the standards Z, andthcse caps are preferably provided with washers Z", of rubber or similar elastic material, to prevent the blocks 0 from coming in direct contact with the caps, and thus injuring the parts or jarring the occupant of the vehicle. Instead of or in addition to the rubber washers, spiral springs may be placed on the standards between the block and the caps Z, to receive the upward movement of the block. By this arrangement the weight of the vehicle-body and its load is supported by the spiral springs (I, while the body is also free to swing backward and forward on the trunnions a. As an additional security and to limit the extent of this swing, a strap, F, preferably of leather, is secured at one end underneath the forward part of the body, and at the other end to the thills or to a cross-bar secured between them in front of the body. (See Fig. 1.)

Covers or protectors H, of sheet metal, leather, or other suitable material, are placed. on the standards'l, (see Fig. 3,) to cover the trunnion-blocks and springs and prevent dust from reachingand clogging or injuring these parts. A curved brace, J, Fig. 1, is secured to each thill and to the vertical portion of the axle to strengthen the vehicle.

To prevent the body of the vehicle from tipping sidewise, we provide two levers, f, pivoted at g to the horizontal portion of the axle beneath the body. (See Fig. 2.) The inner,or adjacent ends of these levers are secured together by means of a bolt, h, set rigidly in one lever and passing through a slot, 1), in the other, thus permitting the movement of the levers. The outer ends of the levers are pivoted at z to the lower ends of the rodsj, which and raising its inner end, which will carry up the inner end of the companion lever at h, causing it to depress the rod j on the other side of the vehicle, and thus to carry that side down the same distance that the side in which the weight is placed is carried down. By this arrangement the floor of the vehicle is a1 ays maintained parallel with the axle.

The arrangement of the levers shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be employed where the vehicle-body is comparatively close to the axle. If, however, the body is mounted some distance above the axle, as in buggies of common construction, the levers may be arranged to cross each other centrally, and are pivoted where they cross. (See Fig. 4.) These crossed levers are then secured at one end by fixed pivotsone to the body-support and the other to the axlewhile the other ends are secured to the same parts, but by sliding pivots, so that each lever is secured at one end to the bodysupport and at the otherto the axle, the sliding pivots being preferably at one side of the vehicle, as shown, Fig. 4.. One pair of these levers on a four-wheeled vehicle will ordinarily be all that will be required. As these le- With a vehicle of the construction shown, Figs. 1 and 2, a folding dash-board will be a convenience in getting in and out, especially for ladies. Such a dash-board is illustrated by Fig. but it does not form any part of our present invention.

As will be obvious, ourinvention may be applied to sleighs as well as to vehicles on wheels; and we do not therefore desire to limit ourselves in this particular.

\Vhat we claim is 1'. A two-wheeled vehicle having a downwardly-bent axle provided with standards or uprights, supports, as blocks a, vertically movable on said standards or uprights, and springs for cushioning said supports, combined with a body and supportingrods, as I), pivotally at tached at their upper ends to said supports, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the vehicle-body,

the downwardlybent axle having the uprights or standards Z, and the blocks 0, adapted to slide on the said standards and provided with the trunnions a, of the cushioning-springs (Z, the supporting-rods b, pivotally connected with the said blocks by the said trunnions, and the cross rods D and E, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the axle provided checked without injuring the parts, substantially as set forth.

4:. The combination, with the vehicle-body, the axle provided with the uprights or stamiards, the trunnion-blocks by which the said body is pivotally supported, and the springs for cushioning said blocks, of the rods jj and the equalizinglevcrs f f, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES R. PRATT. CHARLES H. W. FOSTER.

\Vitnesses:

WM. A. liIACLEOD, ROBERT XVALLACE. 

